1974 Dolomite Sprint

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

There will be a fight to buy this when it's all done.

Good effort.

[John F]

Yep, if you document the rebuild with receipts & pictures, etc. you could potentially double or triple your money. If you want to sell it after doing all the work, that is...

[SiC]

I have documentation and pictures ... right here! (Plus on other forums elsewhere)

The big difference between doing work on this vs the 1100, is that I need to do it properly and also I would be rewarded more financially if I do a good job.

Whether it's a keeper or not is to be decided. I haven't really driven a Dolomite apart from this one home. Because it's a bit shagged and broken (brakes and veering when off the power), it isn't the best way to decide if I like them or not. If I do want to get something else in the future, either this or the BGT will have to go. Five cars seems to be my natural limit after which some of them will end up getting neglected (well I could probably stretch to six maybe...). Right now, I like driving the MGB too much for it to be considered to go. My fear on the Dolomite is that it might be too competent and modern feeling.

[John F]

I doubt you'll find it too modern tbh.

[SiC]

I doubt you'll find it too modern tbh.

Probably will find it compared to a Minor Traveller, Spridget or a GT6 ... all vehicles of which are on my must buy sometime in life list.

[Eddie Honda]

I reckon you'll not like the driving position and ride comfort and flog it on.

[SiC]

The seat foams are definitely in need of attention. Unfortunately the foam isn't currently available. I'm hoping a local reupholster can sort that though. Driving position is better now I've got the wheel fore and aft moving again. Real test is when it's properly on the road though.

It's running polybush, Spax shocks and I think maybe lowered. So at least the ride isn't going to be unnecessarily squishy. If it is either too much or too little, in theory I should be able to adjust the shocks to suit. The BGT is verging on too soft - possibly would be even worse if I replaced the sagging springs. It does mean it is a lot more comfortable over bumps than our A4 or the Boxster.

[DodgeRover]

A decent car upholstery place should be able to remake the foams with modern materials, I've sat in a van that was done and the difference it made was most impressive.

[John F]

Everything will feel modern compared to a Minor Traveller, including a lot of cars built decades before it

It ought to be on an approximate par with the GT6 and the Spridget though.

[captain_70s]

In semi-related bodged Dolly news, just arrived home from work to discover the repair I had done to the Dolly's sill seems to have lasted less than 2 years before starting to fail.

67803477_3472337256125315_9052296200895594496_n.jpg (346.11 KiB) Viewed 3907 times

I wonder what glorious bodgery I paid £230 to have done (by the same garage which condemned the Acclaim)... I don't think I've ever had any decent repair work carried out by anybody I've paid money to for as long as I've been driving...

Talking to a mate who works at a classic resto garage he says that the vast majority of nice looking classic cars that roll in are patchwork death traps which would probably start to fall to bits after a year if they were ever subjected to rain...

Goes to show how good a deal your Sprint was...